


Balanced tension

by Sorrowchan



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-21 08:03:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4821515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorrowchan/pseuds/Sorrowchan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joy hears something beautiful in the night and her first thought is of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Balanced tension

A soft melody is what rouses her from her work. It’s late at night and the halls of the building empty, allowing the sound to echo and overlap in a haunting symphony. When the word “haunting” crosses her mind she can immediately picture him plucking out the notes and a smile spreads across her lips. Well, Joy can’t just leave it a mystery now, can she?

Finding the source proves to be a difficult task with the music seeming to emanate from every door she passes. She presses her ear up to all of them, even the rooms she’s positive couldn’t possibly have the instrument in them. This continues on for she doesn’t know how long. Opening doors, turning around when it sounds like it may be behind her now, traveling up and down stairs, hallways dim and almost alien in the night. It feels like she’s lost in a maze, despite it being a building she knows so well, but it doesn’t matter because she’s almost there, just one more door, one more flight of stairs –

Then the music stops.

It’s not sudden or without warning, the song came to an end and she hadn’t even realized. Joy stands frozen, waiting for the next tune to start, but it doesn’t. All that’s left is the buzzing of the lights overhead.

She’s able to organize her thoughts better in the silence, and she knows exactly where this hall is and an idea comes to her. Now that she has a destination in mind she’s faster, navigating the floor with ease, and in no time she’s standing in front of the room. Sure enough the notes come drifting through the door…but it’s different. It isn’t a song played grace, a performance that flows with an ease that only came from years of experience, it’s merely quiet, hesitant strokes of the keys. Curious now, she pushes the door open.

Her suspicions are confirmed when her eyes come to rest on Sorrow standing over the piano with his back to her, running a hand across the surface of the keys. Joy smiles and leans against the doorway, asking, “Wouldn’t it be better to play for an audience?”

He shakes his head before turning to look at her, returning her smile with one weighed by sadness. “It would be best to play at all. I’m afraid I don’t know how.”

“Very funny. I suppose the piano is haunted and decided to play itself?”

“In a sense,” he replies, laughing softly. “It is haunted, in fact, by an old woman. She played it in her house growing up. Every Sunday morning her mother would sit down with her and teach her a new song. A wonderfully gifted woman. But she never played for anyone other than herself.”

It makes sense to her now. Sort of. Try as she might she doesn’t think she’ll ever fully understand Sorrow and his ghosts. “So, you let her play one last song through you?”

He nods. “And in return I could pretend I had a worthwhile talent.”

Despite him being turned away again she gives him a look and pushes off from the door, striding into the room. “You say that like you don’t have any worthwhile talents now,” she says as she comes to a stop by his side.

Sorrow anticipates where she’s going right away and shakes his head again. “Don’t start, love, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then you had better explain how you did mean it, because I’m about to start.”

“It’s…” he starts, than pauses to think. “I mean, a pretty talent, perhaps? Something that may not be practical but can make other people happy… Let me put it this way instead, I’ve always wanted to learn but have never had the chance. Is that better?”

She can’t help laughing at his struggle for words, even if it is a bit mean. When he fumbles over himself his accent becomes even more apparent and whatever he’s trying to say doesn’t matter anymore. “Yes, that’s much better.” Before he realizes what she’s doing she pulls him back down on the bench, smiling wide. “You know, I was taught piano when I was younger. I can’t say I remember many songs, but I could teach you the basics?”

His eyes light up and he gives her a smile she so rarely gets to see. “I would love that.”

With his hand cupped gently in hers she brings them to rest on the keys, replying, “Let’s get started, then.”

It takes some time for her to remember anything she’d been taught, but once she gets a hold of the memories they flow back in like a steady stream. Sorrow catches onto the concepts quickly, but his hands stumble and he’s slow to learn the simple song she tries to show him. That’s more of an excuse for her to hold his hands, though. They sit and practice everything she knows, having him recite the names of the keys every now and then just to ensure he remembers. Praise is as easy as a handful of kisses and she doesn’t scold as much as gently correct him. She wishes she had more for him to learn, but he’s still excited with what she shows him and it can’t be more charming.

The lesson goes on for well over an hour until she notices him yawning, and pauses.

“I think that’s enough for now,” she says, letting go of his hands. “Why don’t we call it a night, hm?”

He looks like he’s about to protest, then yawns again, and changes his mind. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea. It’s late.”

They exchange smiles before she pulls him away, showering him in little kisses and sweet looks as she leads him back to her room. He insists he can go back to his cot, no one will wake up, but Joy is far too enamored with him right now to let him go so easily. At the very least another half hour of cuddling is due, perhaps with a smidge of making out as well, and most importantly falling asleep with her arms around him.

Maybe Sorrow doesn’t know any “pretty” talents, but he doesn’t need to. Joy loves him all the same.


End file.
